Improvement in water-indicatoes foe boilees



2 Sheets Sheet 1.

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Patented July 16; 1867.

Water Gage.

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Patented July 16, 1867.

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WILLIAM R. ENGLAND, 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN. Letters Patent No. 66,694., dated July. 16, 1 867.

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ALL WHOM IT MAYQONCERN: 7' Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. ENGLAND, of the city and county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin,

have invented a newand useful Improvement on Water-Gauges, to indicate high and low water in steamboilers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, of vhich- V Plate 1 is a perspective view.

Figure 1, Plate 2, is a longitudinal section; and

Figure 2, Plate 2, is a cross-section.

A A A of plate 1 is a hollow casting, composed of a bent cylinder, B, opening on the concave side through its whole length into the triangular member 0 C O. D D are caps covering the ends of cylinder-B. E, in plate 2, figs. 1 and 2, is a copper ball, movable through the whole length of the cylinder 13, connected by a lever, F, with a dial shaft, G. H, in plate 1, is an index-hand pointing to dial-plate I. K, in plate 1, is an adjustable connecting-rod between index-band H and a steam-whistle lever, L. M is asteam-whist1e, connected by tube N with the upper end of cylinder B. O, in plate 1, is a glass tube, connected by brass or other unions withboth ends of cylinder B, and opening into the same. 1? and Q are pipes, with stop-cocks a and 6 connecting each end of the cylinder with the boiler. c is a waste stop-cock attached to pipe Q. d, in plate 2, fig. 2, is a stuHing-box for dial-shaftG, and e is an adjustable bearing of opposite end of shaft G. t

The materials of which the diiferent parts are constructed may be varied. The hollow casting A A A may be made of brass or of iron; the ball E may be made of hardened copper; the lever F and the dial-shaft G may each be made of steel, galvanized iron, iron, brass, or of copper; and the lever F may be hollow or solid theuse of difi'erent materials in the construction of the foregoing parts being to adapt the water-gauge to freshor salt water.

' To operate this water-gauge it must be placed in an upright position, or nearly so, and at such an elevation that the low-water point in the boiler determined on shall be on a horizontal line with the centre of the bottom of thecylinder, at its connection with the cap D, at which point the ball begins to float. Water from the boiler has access to the gauge through pipe Q, and steam through pipe P. As the water rises in the boiler it also rises in the gauge, causing the ball to float on itssurface, one-third of its diameter submerged, and governing by the simple lever F and dial-shaft G, the index-hand H, which points at all times to the point of submergence of the ball E, thus indicating the height of solid water in the boiler. The glass tube 0', by means of'its openings at each end into the cylinder B, receives water and steam, and serves as-a second watengauge, whereby the height of the water is visible to the eye; and should the buoyancy of the ball E become impaired by accretion, leakage, or any other cause, the glass tube would enable one to instantly detect any such fault. Should the water at any time foam so as to deceive the eye, the ball E would still sink beneath the foam and rest on the solid water, which point would be shown by the index-hand H. Thus each member serves as a distinct .gauge to detect any fault in the other. The index-hand is attached at f to the adjustable connecting-rod K;

and on the upper end of the connecting-rod K, which passes through the end of the steam whistle lever L, are two movable collars, n and m, one above and the other below the lever L. These collars are secured at such points on the rod K as to raise or depress the whistle-lever L, and thus open thesteam-valve and give the alarmat any desired point of high or low water.

The benefits of this gauge are: p

I. Its simplicity of construction. Its construction with one simple lever connected directlywith the shaft of the dial-plate, without any combination of levers, joints, knuckles, gearing, or other mechanism, which would increase friction on the inside of the machine, or which would be liable to' become foul by any introduction of foreign substances with the water or steam. All the friction or weight to be overcome by the float E is the friction of the dial-shaft G in the stoning-board, and the pressure on the steam-whistle valve when the alarm is given. Therefore there is nothing in the inside of the gauge to'get out of order, or that needs repair, so long as the buoyancy of the float remains intact; and hence little care is necessary to insure the successful operation of the gauge. The collarsn and m on the rod K are readily adjustable without disturbing any other part of the gauge, and they can be at any moment so adjusted as to give the alarm precisely at the point desired.

II. Its efficiency. The immense leverage connected with the ball E is such that its submergence of onesixteenth of an inch, after sustaining its own weight, will open the steam-whistle valve under a pressure of seventy-five pounds of steam. Hence, by a slight submergence of the ball E, the'power obtained through the lever connections effects the entire result desired of the gauge, and leaves a large amount of power unused. The simple structure of the inside of this gauge renders its working easy; and should it by any means get out of a perpendicular position, its operation is not impeded. In this respect it is of great utility on marine engines,

where a perfect and constant position is not always expected. The efiiciency of this gauge arises, also, from the simple combinations of the various parts into one whole, each part performing its work and assisting each other part without in any manner causing any impediment to the Working oft-he gauge.

Of this water and steam-alarm gauge I do not claim as new the ball-float, the glass-tube gaugeJthe indexpointer, nor the dial-plate. Nor do I claim the invention of a. steam-alarm by a combination of levers; but

what I do claim is-- I 1. The arrangement of the whistle-lever L, connecting-rod K, index-hand H, lever F, and float E, substantially-as herein set forth.

2. I claim the arrangement, with reference to the first clause of claim, of the glass tube 0 and whistle M,

substantially as herein set forth. 3. I claim the arrangement of the adjustable collars m and n with the whistle-lever L, substantially as herein set forth.

WM. R. ENGLAND.

Witnesses S. M. llL'IILLARD, GEO. H. WILBUR. 

